Making a Joyful Noise through Lent –
04/01/2014
“Today, as the Church seeks to
experience a profound missionary renewal, there is a kind of preaching which
falls to each of us as a daily responsibility. It has to do with bringing the
Gospel to the people we meet, whether they be our neighbours or complete
strangers. This is the informal preaching which takes place in the middle of a
conversation, something along the lines of what a missionary does when visiting
a home. Being a disciple means being constantly ready to bring the love of
Jesus to others, and this can happen unexpectedly and in any place: on the
street, in a city square, during work, on a journey.” (Pope Francis, Evangelii
Gaudium: The Joy of the Gospel)
Pope Francis asks us to bring the joy of
the Gospel to whomever we meet. We are to look around and see the people like
the man in the Gospel today who can’t get to the living water of healing and we
are to bring that living water to them. We are not to be people who see themselves
alone with Jesus, we are to be people of a community of faith who bring the
living waters of Jesus to the world.
As I looked over the scriptures this
morning a couple of thoughts came to mind. First there is a one striking thing
about today's Gospel (5:1-16) for me; it is the fact that the man whom Jesus
approaches is alone. He says he has no one to help him. No one to get him to
the water, he finds himself alone unable to get to the waters of life. How
often do we feel alone in life? We have that feeling that we are out there on a
limb by ourselves. There is no one to help, no one to lean on, and no one to
help us get to where we want to go. Like the man in the gospel today we can be
surrounded by a world of people and yet still feel alone.
In those moments perhaps it is only God
who makes the difference. We perhaps are not dramatically healed as the man in
the story but when we let God enter our life, life does become better. We
encounter the gifts of life; we get places that seemed impossible to get to
before. With God in our life being part of the world, be a part of the
community is not only possible it happens.
Another aspect of our readings today is
the element of water. Ezekiel (Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12) and the man in the Gospel
encounter the healing power of water. They are each aware of its importance in
for life. They each become aware of the presence of God in life that water
represents.
Our readings today remind us of the
value of God's presence in our lives. God's presence never leaves us to face
life alone. God's presence is life giving, refreshing and life sustaining. As
the verse for the responsorial psalm says, God is with us and God is our
stronghold our support.
As we live this day let us be aware of
the many ways that God enters our life. Let us be aware of the many ways in
which God does not leave us alone and the many ways God sustains and refreshes
our life. Let us be thankful and not fear because God is ever with us and will
never leave us to face life alone!
Happy Tuesday and April 1st –
April Fool’s Day everyone! But remember God doesn’t fool so let not be fools
either let’s make a joyful noise with our life today!
Daily Lenten Prayer: My Lord God, I
have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know
for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I
think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I
believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I
have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything
apart for that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the
right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you
always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not
fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils
alone. (From Thomas Merton --- Thoughts in Solitude)
A Runner's Thoughts: Perhaps as we
run today we too should choose the road less traveled: the road of awareness as
we run, the road of revelation as we run, the road of intention as we run, the
road of mindfulness as we run, the road of imagination as we run, the road of
joy as we run, the road of prayer as we run. Today let's pick a road we have
not traveled lately and let it make a difference in our life today!
Daily Blessing: I hope your
Tuesday is starting out ok. We had a nice second evening of mission here at St.
Lawrence Parish last night. I got to meet some of the priests from the area as
we celebrated Reconciliation as part of the mission last night many of the men
came from 40 to 50 miles away. I am looking forward to our third evening of
mission tonight. There is a wonderful spirit here and we are truly walking by
faith these days!
As always please keep the faith
community of St. Lawrence/St. Thomas in your prayers and if you have time for
an extra one could it be for their preacher!
I pray for blessings upon your today
where ever you are and whatever you will be doing. May today be a productive
and peaceful one for you. May today be rich in the presence of God and may that
presence help you to know that even in the most difficult times of struggle
that you are not alone. God’s blessings, much peace and may God truly be your
stronghold today and always! Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul
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